The present invention relates to a container for use in storing and dispensing articles such as plastic bags formed in a spool or roll is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,272. The structure shown in this patent includes a transparent, semi-rigid container in the general form of a cylinder having an upper half and a lower half hinged about a horizontal line parallel to the axis of the roll in the container, thus forming a "clam shell" structure. This package is designed to rest on its side--that is, on the cylindrical sidewall of the container. To provide stability so that the cylindrical container does not roll off a shelf, a portion of the sidewall is flat and formed into a corrugated base on which the container rests on a shelf or the like. Moreover, the container includes an extension of a flange opposite the hinge for the two container sections. The flange extension is designed to engage the surface on which the package rests for stability. This package also includes upper rest surfaces which are corrugated and which are designed to receive the lower corrugated surface of a similar container stacked on top of a lower one. Thus, they are intended to be stacked, with the rolls disposed on their sides.
These containers are not widely used commercially because they are inefficient in the usage of valuable display space in a retail store. Moreover, although these containers are designed to be stacked, because of the smooth, semi-ridged plastic of the container sidewalls, and because of the structure of the design intended to permit one container to be stacked on top of another, there is a tendency to have the upper containers fall off of a lower one, as a consumer engages one package for removal from a stack or attempts to replace it in the stack after viewing it.
Another disadvantage of this type of container is that it is expensive to manufacture. It is also somewhat inefficient in space usage if the consumer intends to store it on a shelf at home because it is designed to rest on its side.
Finally, this type of container, which dispenses between flanges formed in the opposing sides of the cylindrical container, may open during dispensing because of the manner in which bags are pulled from the package. And if the product is the type of plastic trash bag which requires ties to be included in the package, the two sides of the container must be opened in order to retrieve a tie. Then the container must be re-closed after a tie is removed. In short, this type of container is expensive, is disadvantageous to the retailer because it is difficult to stack, not stable in stacking and inefficient in the utilization of shelf space. It is not particularly desirable from the standpoint of a consumer, either.
Another design for a container of this general type is disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 29/024,622, now abandoned. This particular structure is too expensive to manufacture and it is difficult under normal manufacturing conditions to maintain the tolerances necessary to have this particular structure function reliably.